Man's Best Friend
by Monkeefan42
Summary: Things are not too hot at the Nesmith residence. The deer are eating up Nez's lawn again, Nez very grumpy since he got stood up for dinner the other night. Meanwhile poor Dale is extremely lonely, wishing she had Roy back in her life. Can anyone help this man and his pup? Or will Nez and Dale be alone together forever?


Man's best friend 

Nez peered out the window as he drank his coffee, a glum expression on his face as he watched the deer, skunks, chipmunks, and just about every other animal he could think of, chew up his lawn and his shrubs. He sighed at the memory of the once luscious green lawn, and hearty shrubs. What he saw now depressed him. The lawn was now tattered looking, large chunks having been eaten by the animals, and the shrubs were practically bare. "When I bought this house…" he grumbled, "…there were no families of deer to eat everything up!" "You know what I mean, Dale?!" he shouted outside, but Dale was too busy 'conversing' with the Deer and skunk to notice. She nuzzled at the large buck's leg and chased after the little doe. When she got tired of playing with the animals, Nez watched as she led the family of deer and the skunk over to a large bush-the only full bush that Nez had left on his property.

He grumbled to himself as he watched the deer eat his precious evergreen bush. "Nez" he said out loud. "You've got to do something about these damn deer!" Without thinking, he hurried outside, armed with his coffee mug. "Get out of the way, Toots!" he yelled at Dale. He threw the contents of the coffee cup out onto the deer, missing them by an inch as they ran away. "How about them apples?!" he shouted. Dale looked at him sadly, as if to say "Why did you scare away my only friends?" She went inside with a sniffle, and lay down in her doggy bed. Dale had been very despondent and sad since Roy died a year earlier. Roy was her best friend, and through thick and thin, they were there for each other. Dale hugged her bear close as she began to recount the bad memory of Roy's death in her head. She had woken up one morning, and nosed at Roy's side so he could get up and play ball with her…only he didn't move. When she saw Nez crying, she knew that Roy was gone from her life, not in a deep sleep like she thought, and she began to cry.

Dale still cried a lot. Usually when she thought Nez was busy in his music room or taking a shower. All she had to remind her of Roy were the pictures of him around his house, and his favorite bear, which she slept with every night. She was interrupted from her thoughts when she saw a small German Pointer puppy by the back yard, looking lost and lonely. She barked for Nez, and he soon came out, his hair still wet from the shower. "What is it, Toots?" he tilted his head at her, and followed the dog's gaze. "Nez, you're seeing things" he said to himself, but slowly opened the sliding door, the puppy whimpering. Dale's eyes lit up when she got a good look at the puppy. Upon further inspection, she realizes that the dog looked a lot like Roy. The same blue eyes, the same brown and white fur. She looked at the dog sadly, but trotted over to him, giving him kisses.

"Dale." He chuckled. "Let's get this little fella inside". No sooner did he say that, a young girl of around 20 came running after the puppy. "Blue!" she called. "Come here!" The girl was petite with brown hair, and as he looked over at the girl, he couldn't help but smile. Not only was she pretty, but she owned a GSP-just like him! "I've got him, miss. Looks like you need an invisible fence for this pup!" He fondled the puppy's silky ears, and he yipped happily, wagging his tail"." I'm so sorry." The girl tried to catch her breath. "I have that invisible fence so he doesn't go in other people's yards, but I took his collar off for a bath, and he wandered." "Oh, it's perfectly alright. He's a handsome dog." Nez grinned extending his hand." I'm Michael. You can call me Nez." She met his eyes and smiled. "I'm Lauren. Pleased to meet you, Nez". Dale helped the puppy inside, happy for the first time in a year. Not only did she have a new friend now, but it looked like Nez was smitten by this girl. "It's about time" she said to herself, watching her owner and the girl before she led the puppy to the den.


End file.
